A Journal - McGaheysville - Elkton, Virginia Aea

May 1931
Page Fifty-five
  4 May 1931 - New Frigidair put in on Mon [Monday].
  4 May 1931 - Busy Bee met here 19 present.
  5 May 1931 - Amos Gooden married Tues [Tuesday.
  7 May 1931 - Rain and wind storm Thurs [Thursday].
  7 May 1931 - Painted kitchenThursday.
  8 May 1931 - Anna Kyger operated on Fri [Friday].
     May 1931 - New Top on truck.
     May 1931 - Jews in jail.
18 May 1931 - School closed 13 graduated.
12 May 1931 - Jews stop coming on Tuesday.
20 May 1931 - Anna Kyger came home from hospital Fri [Friday] week[?].
17 May 1931 - Nellie Ware left McGuire.
    May 1931 - McGuire got electric stove.
29 May 1931 - Mrs. Fannie Eaton dies 80 years old Fri [Friday].
22 May 1931 - Mr. Lam mother dies on Fri [Friday].
22 May 1931 - Guss, colored man dies 66 year stay at Mr. Charles Miller.
22 May 1931 - Mr. Malone died of McGaheysville, Va.
24 May 1931 - Aunt Sis & Family here on Sun [Sunday].
May 1931
Page Fifty-six
May 1931
16 May 1931- Mrs. Edith Coffey operated on.
24 May 1931 - Mrs. Stearn Brother died.
29 May 1931 - Senator B. Keezle fractured hip in home.
    May 1931 - Full moon on 2nd and 31.This is the first time this has occurred for 58 years.
June 1931 came in on Monday.
  2 Jun 1931 - Mrs. Lettie Good broke arm on Tues [Tuesday].
  1 Jun 1931 - Fred Offenbacker married.
  3 Jun 1931 - P. Herring married.
     Jun 1931 - Miss Sallie Dean hurt.
  8 Jun 1931 - Mrs. Brill teeth taken out.
  6 Jun 1931 - Mrs. Geo. [George] Wyant new baby of Hagerstown, Md [Maryland].
 11-14 Jun 1931 - Sunday School Convention.
14 Jun 1931 - Went to Convention.
18 Jun 1931 - Mrs. Vernon Thomas died 65 years old.
23 Jun 1931 - Senator Keezle died at Hospital.
    Jun 1931 - Mrs. Roy Kyger gets new glasses.
28 Jun 1931 - Ray Birthday he came on Sun [Sunday].
Page Fifty-seven
June 1931
29 Jun 1931 - Got parts for oil stove on Sat [Saturday].
21 Jun 1931 - Jersey [cow] fresh [had calf] on Sun [Sunday].
29 Jun 1931 - Richard Lee Walton brakes [breaks] arm.
July 1931
  3 Jul 1931 - Mr. Claude Meadows died.
  7 Jul 1931 - Annie Downey operated on  Mon [Monday].
  6 Jul 1931 - Lucille Cover operated on [Sunday].
  8 Jul 1931 - Randel Monger operated on Tues [Tuesday].
  9 Jul 1931 - Mrs. T.C. Dyke operated on Wed [Wednesday].
17 Jul 1931 - Mrs. Frazier found in river on Fri [Friday].
19 Jul 1931 - Eua Fisher sick.
24 Jul 1931 - Mr. Fred Offenbacker died on Fri [Friday].
28 Jul 1931 - Mrs. Ed Garber new baby.
31 Jul 1931 - Mrs. Geo.[George] Cave new baby.
    Jul 1931 - Kygers get washing machine.
31 Jul 1931 - Beulah goes to work.
[To be continued]

Game Recipes

Powder Horn and Shot Bag

A special "Thanks," to those of you who wrote to let me know that you did enjoy the wild game article and recipes. The answer to the question which many of you asked is, "yes,"  I most certainly do have other such recipes and am delighted to be able to share them with you.

For those of you who are somewhat squeamish about eating wild game, perhaps it might help to know that taste in food, like many other things, is acquired.  It changes according to time and place.  For instance, did you know that Native Americans did NOT eat beef or pork?  They knew it stank and believed that it would destroy their bodies.  Attitude, which is formed from our belief system, is indeed everything.

Campfire cooking is to be savored...not hurried.

Let’s begin by saying that the best way to thicken the broth in any of these recipes is to mix flour with cold water before adding the mixture to the hot broth. The easiest way to do this in order to keep lumps from forming is to put the flour and water into a small glass jar with a screw lid or other similar container and shake the mixture until it is a lump free liquid and  then add it to the hot broth. You can vary the amount of flour and water as needed, depending upon the amount of gravy desired.

Also most of these recipes may be cooked over an open fire in a cast iron pot or skillet fitted with a cast iron lid. Just make sure you take the time to prepare a large bed of hot coals so that you can sit the pot down into the coals and still have enough to put around and also on top of the lid to ensure even cooking or baking. 

If you need your food to be gluten free, use arrowroot instead of wheat flour or regular white flour.  Do not use arrowroot to coat the meat for frying, instead use corn meal ground very fine.  It is possible to buy corn flour and arrowroot flour by the pound.

Remember that ice cold water was only available in the winter when rivers and creeks were frozen. Back then, water for all aspects of life was from a nearby creek, river or spring.  Wild herbs were also always available for food preparation as well as for medicinal use.

Squirrel

FRIED SQUIRREL

Dress the squirrel. Cut it into pieces and soak in salt water for several hours. Drain. Boil the meat until it is tender in fresh water. Dip the pieces in beaten egg and roll in finely ground cornmeal, fry the pieces in deep fat until brown. Add a mixture of water, wine

SQUIRREL STEW

In two quarts of water, place the meat of four or five squirrels which have been cleaned and cut into small pieces, one cup of diced carrots, four of diced potatoes, four cups of butter [lima] beans, and two medium size onions.  Cook until all is tender.  If thickening is needed, mix a small amount of flour into cool water and stir well until a thickish liquid mixture is formed, then pour this mixture into the pot of stew.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and thyme.  Some folk prefer to use tomatoes and corn instead of potatoes and butter beans while other use all four vegetables.

BRAISED RABBIT

Clean and cut into serving size pieces, one large or two small rabbits.  Measure one–fourth cup of flour, two teaspoons seasoned salt, one-half teaspoon pepper, one and one-half teaspoon of paprika into a paper bag.Add rabbit pieces to the bag.  While holding the top of the bag shut, shake the bag well, coating each piece of the rabbit well. Put a mixture of water and wine in to a baking pot or pan,  Add coated pieces of rabbit, Cook until very tender.  

FRICASSEED RABBIT

Clean, cut up and disjoint the rabbit. Put into a stew pan and season with cayenne pepper, salt and chopped parsley. Pour in a pint of warm water and stew over a slow fire until quite tender, adding some bits of butter when nearly done.

TURTLE

Place the turtle in boiling water for a quarter of an hour. Pull the outer shell off and then boil it again until the claws are tender.  Remove the turtle from the inner shell taking care to remove the gall and spongy parts.  Cut the remainder into small pieces and place into a stewing pan.  Add salt, black pepper and butter and stew for a short time.  Add about one-half cup of water and simmer for fifteen minutes or so.  Blend together a mixture of melted butter, flour and a very small amount of water.  Stir this mixture into the cooking turtle to make gravy.  Serve after the gravy thickens.

GROUND HOG

Skin the carcass, remove the insides and disjoint and cut the meat into pieces.  Soak overnight in very salty water.  Drain and boil the meat until tender.  Remove the meat and let it cool. To serve, roll the meat in flour and cook it in hot fat until brown.

BAKED GROUND HOG

Boil a dressed ground hog in salted water for at least two hours.  Drain and remove the meat, placing it into a baking pan.  Sprinkle it with salt and pepper.  Bake in a moderately hot oven for at least thirty minutes.

ROAST OPOSSUM

Skin and dress the animal, place it in a baking pan with a small amount of water. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and bake in a medium hot oven for three hours or until the meat is tender and brown.  Apples which have been pared and quartered along with raisins baked in the liquid makes a good side dish.

WILD TURKEY                                

Dress and clean the bird carefully.  Place the turkey in a baking pan; add water, salt and pepper.  The bird maybe stuffed with a favorite dressing before roasting.  Bake in a medium hot oven, allowing   twenty minutes for each pound of meat. Wild turkeys are leaner than domestic birds and need to be based more frequently with butter. Thicken the liquid with flour and water into a nice gravy before serving.

VENSION STEW

Deer  meat must be marinated by placing it in an earthen ware container [crock] together with onions and bay leaves, and covered with cider vinegar.  After two days, wash the meat in cold water and place it into a kettle with boiling hot water to cover. Stew until tender, remove and bone the meat. Cook four diced carrots, six stalks of diced celery, and four onions into the meat broth.  Add meat cut into small pieces and thicken with a flour and water paste.  Flavor to taste with salt and pepper.

BRUNSWICK STEW

Place three cups of water in a heavy iron kettle, two medium size peeled onions, four tomatoes  and one table spoon of Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Add the edible portions of one squirrel, one rabbit, and one small chicken. Allow the mixture to simmer for two hours.  Combine one cup of butter beans, one cup of corn cut from the cob, and a cup of okra, add these to these to the liquid and simmer for another hour.  Finally, add two tablespoons of butter, a half cup of bread crumbs and water if necessary and simmer for two more hours before serving.  This dish may also be made with chicken, pork, rabbit and squirrel, potatoes, peas, and snap green beans.

A great side dish to accompany any of the above recipes is a pan of golden brown Skillet Corn Bread.

SKILLET CORN BREAD
Take one chunk of lard about two inches square and melt in a very hot cast iron skillet.  Put about one and a half cups of self-rising corn meal into a bowl making a well or hole in the meal to which you add about two tablespoons of the hot lard.  Mix well.  Add about one cup of milk and two egg to the mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon.  Pour mixture into the well greased skillet, add the skillet's lid and bake in an open fire until golden brown.  Don't forget to put hot coals around the sides and on top of the skillet.  If you would like to try this in your oven, simply leave off the lid and bake until golden brown in a hot oven about four hundred degrees.  Don't forget to cover your hot cornbread with butter, honey, jam or even better, homemade apple butter.

A Journal - McGaheysville - Elkton area.

Miss Lottie Davis 

March 1931
Page Fifty-two
March 1931 came in on Sun [Sunday].
     Mar 1931 - New Garden Fence Jim S. colored.
     Mar 1931 - Lawrence gets radio & washing machine.
     Mar 1931 - Mr. Walter Miller died 72 years. Funeral at home.
  2 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Ashby Lam died  on Mon.
  2 Mar 1931 - Mr. Ewell Breeden died at hospital from burn 35 years old.
  4 Mar 1931 - Ladies Aid met at Mrs. Geo [George] Lam.
  8 Mar 1931 - Mr. Jesse Wyant died 95 years on Sunday.
11 Mar 1931 - Mr. Kyger got mail route.
11 Mar 1931 - Meeting starts at UB [United Brethren] Church.
15 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Baugher came home.
  7 Mar 1931 - Tottie Cook new baby.
  4 Mar 1931 - Mr. Tom Davis died 65 years.

16 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Baugher came home Washington.

 7 Mar 1931 - Mr. Kyger new car Ford.

23 Mar 1931 - Mr. Kyger started on route Mon [Monday].

20 Mar 1931 - Miss Janet Monger married on Fri [Friday].

23 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Lester McGuire new baby on Mon [Monday].

Page Fifty-three

March 1931

23 Mar 1931 - Picture at U.B.C. [United Brethren] given by Rev. Dr. Wright.

21 Mar 1931 - Mrs. M.V. Leap get new glasses.

25 Mar 1931 - Uncle Leat S. mother died 74 years old on Wed.[Wednesday].

29 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Elmer Leap new baby Leeroy 12lbs.Sun [Sunday].

29 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Goldie Miller new baby girl Sun [Sunday].

29 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Vernon Davis new baby boy Sun [Sunday].

29 Mar 1931 - Mrs. Lucille Harrison new baby boy Sun [Sunday].

29 Mar 1931 - William & Lay cutting scrape Sun [Sunday].

28 Mar 1931 - Elmore [Elmer] Leap car stolen by Meadows boy.

27 Mar 1931 - Lena Dean goes to Hospital.

27 Mar 1931 - New egg man from S [Shenandoah?].

April 1931 came in on Wednesday

  1 Apr 1931 - Put tank in Harold kitchen Wed[Wednesday].

  2 Apr 1931 - Mrs. Sigafoose twins girl & boy.

 4 Apr 1931 - Mr. T. W. Frey died 69 years 10 months 16 days Sat[Saturday].

  6 Apr 1931 - Snow and rain all day Monday.

  6 Apr 1931 - Mr. Charles Kite buck[?] died 62 years 8 months 18 days.

Page Fifty-four

April 1931

  9 Apr 1931 - Mr. Bob Davis killed by  by Lam on Thursday night.

30 Apr 1931 - Daddy get Frigidaire.

21 Apr 1931 - New court room opened in Harrisonburg.

18 Apr 1931 - Mrs. Bill Hammers twin boys.

18 Apr 1931 - Mrs. Shifflett died.Sister of Tom and Bob Davis.

21 Apr 1931 - Ruth Workman operated on.

22 Apr 1931 - New shade on porch.

26 Apr 1931 - Lester  McGuire wreck car going Washington Sun,

25 Apr 1931 -Mr. Luther Dean in jail at WVa.

 4 Apr 1931 - Walter Hammer married.

26 Apr 1931 - Mr. George Shifflett killed by son on Sunday.

29 Apr 1931 - Mrs. Hammer died.

     Apr 1931 - Wilson Shifflett goes on road blinkey [?].

     Apr 1931 - Moved railroad tracks.

     Apr 1931 - McGuire new car.

[To be continued.]

Harvest Time and Distilling

Prior to 1900, most farms had a still house in which a wide variety of spirits were produced. Distilling was a very profitable way to convert grain into much needed cash.  Most of our ancestors used similar methods and recipes which they brought with them from Europe.

Pot still similar to those used in Scotland and other parts of Europe.

 Farmers in our rural mountain regions found it difficult to haul fully loaded wooden wagons full of grain across the mountains to market.  Those of us living today take modern roads for granted, but indeed they are a luxury item which was not available in the past.

Etching of Loaded Hay Wagon

It takes a complete growing season for grain crops to mature and ripen.  Farmers, both then and now, harvest grain crops in the fall of the year. After the crops are cut and stacked in the field to dry, the grain is removed from the sheaves or stalks by hand.  It then is put into containers [bags, barrels or baskets] which will sit into a wagon bed to be taken to market.  Normally, this coincides with the fall rainy season.

Corn shocks drying in a row.

To complicate this situation further, Richmond was basically the closest market. Our Shenandoah Valley was the wheat producing area of Virginia.  Can you imagine having to haul a few wagons fully loaded with grain over the Blue Ridge Mountain on wet muddy roads?  Now add to this, the fact that all of your neighbors were attempting to do the exact same thing at about the same time which causes the roadway to develop the texture of slippery wet cornmeal.

My grandfather [Claude A. Lilly (1893-1964)] use to tell of going to market with his grandfather  and along the way, listening to stories which his grandfather told about his own boyhood, including one about going to market with his very own grandfather. These events would have occurred seven generations ago, most probably shortly after the American Revolution.

Wooden wagon. 

Granddad always laughed as he told the story which had been told to him of wagons marring up to their hubs in the muddy dirt road. Of course, the men worked until dark trying to free the wagon loaded full of grain before they finally gave up and unhitched the team of horses trying to pull it out of the mar. Fires were built for the night and meals were prepared in the pouring down cold rain for the exhausted men.  When they awoke early the next morning they found, much to their horror, that the muddy road had frozen solid.  Hitching the team, they worked to free the wagon. Finally after hours of work, the whole bed of the wagon pulled free, spilling all of grain.

Field of rye

Due to many such problems and the fact that distilling was also more profitable as compared to the selling of grain, many of our ancestors chose the easier way of ensuring that their family's needs were met by turning their grain crop into a more portable form.  For instance, in 1880, rye sold at forty cents per bushel, while whiskey sold for between thirty-five to forty cents per gallon.  Three gallons of whiskey could be made from one bushel of rye.  By 1900 rye sold at fifty cents per bushel and whiskey was selling between two and two and a half dollars per gallon. Thus, a farmer could make fifteen times as much by distilling his crop as he could by selling the grain once he actually got it to market.

Stoneware Jug

Rye whiskey was but only one product that our ancestors distilled. Our folk also produced corn liquor, applejack [brandy] and a whole host of other varieties of beers and wines.  Of course, we all "know" because we've been told that many of our own ancestors were violently opposed to the consumption or use of alcoholic beverages in any form, unless of course, it was perhaps in the form of Blackberry, Cherry, Dandelion, Elderberry or Strawberry Wine, and of course you know that these were only used for medicinal purposes,now don't you???